So this was my fourth year at the burn, and I got into some trouble with the law. However, I feel it was incredibly unjust.....

On Tuesday night, at about 10 p.m., I was hanging out in the camp dome. A group of friends decided to go out and venture for the night, and at the very last minute I decided to go with them. I yelled for them to wait as I got my things together, but it’s the playa, and people want to go, go, go! I was no more than a foot out of the BACK entrance of the dome, when all the sudden there’s three bright lights shinning down on me. I had no idea what was going on, so I started walking towards the street; when three grown men surround me, BLM officers. They start saying that they can smell the pot, they know I was smoking, and they know I have some on me. I was 100% sober! (Which you can’t say for many people on the playa!) Then the only person that waited for me, who had a pint in his hand, they let him go! With out checking his ID or anything. Telling me I was the problem, and that they wanted to search me. I refused! I started asking to go get the camp leader, and started walking towards the dome, one of them grabbed my arm and restrained me from moving! While the other two we’re surrounding me. I still refused to let them search me. Then they started threatening to get the dogs, and that they we’re going to search me either way, so I might as well let them search me. And that’s when I started freaking out, they did their snide cop thing, and got me to do and say whatever they wanted. But here’s the worst of it, when they were looking me up, they had a bit of a hard time. Started asking how tall I was, and how much I weigh. I stopped to say that I weighed differently on my ID, he cuts me off “No, how much do you weigh now?” 120. Fifteen minutes goes by, he come up to me and says “Uh, Samantha did you used to be heavier?” WTF? Yes, yes I did. Then one says “Wow, you’ve done really well for yourself,” and the other, “I thought pot made people fat...” I managed to say that I’m an active stoner, and not all pot heads are lazy. In the end I had weed and hash on me, it’s burning man! I received a $525 ticket, and an INCREDIBLY traumatizing experience.Don’t let this differ you from going to the burn! This year was the best year ever! Just trying to let people know to be cautious, I wasn’t even smoking and looked what happened!

This was the first experience I’ve ever had with the law, I’m from WA, and the pot laws are pretty non existent. I now know what I did wrong, and what to do if it ever happens again. Please spread the word! Peace&Love!

Sammi_Noelle wrote:So this was my fourth year at the burn, and I got into some trouble with the law. However, I feel it was incredibly unjust.....

On Tuesday night, at about 10 p.m., I was hanging out in the camp dome. A group of friends decided to go out and venture for the night, and at the very last minute I decided to go with them. I yelled for them to wait as I got my things together, but it’s the playa, and people want to go, go, go! I was no more than a foot out of the BACK entrance of the dome, when all the sudden there’s three bright lights shinning down on me. I had no idea what was going on, so I started walking towards the street; when three grown men surround me, BLM officers. They start saying that they can smell the pot, they know I was smoking, and they know I have some on me. I was 100% sober! (Which you can’t say for many people on the playa!) Then the only person that waited for me, who had a pint in his hand, they let him go! With out checking his ID or anything. Telling me I was the problem, and that they wanted to search me. I refused! I started asking to go get the camp leader, and started walking towards the dome, one of them grabbed my arm and restrained me from moving! While the other two we’re surrounding me. I still refused to let them search me. Then they started threatening to get the dogs, and that they we’re going to search me either way, so I might as well let them search me. And that’s when I started freaking out, they did their snide cop thing, and got me to do and say whatever they wanted. But here’s the worst of it, when they were looking me up, they had a bit of a hard time. Started asking how tall I was, and how much I weigh. I stopped to say that I weighed differently on my ID, he cuts me off “No, how much do you weigh now?” 120. Fifteen minutes goes by, he come up to me and says “Uh, Samantha did you used to be heavier?” WTF? Yes, yes I did. Then one says “Wow, you’ve done really well for yourself,” and the other, “I thought pot made people fat...” I managed to say that I’m an active stoner, and not all pot heads are lazy. In the end I had weed and hash on me, it’s burning man! I received a $525 ticket, and an INCREDIBLY traumatizing experience.Don’t let this differ you from going to the burn! This year was the best year ever! Just trying to let people know to be cautious, I wasn’t even smoking and looked what happened

This was the first experience I’ve ever had with the law, I’m from WA, and the pot laws are pretty non existent. I now know what I did wrong, and what to do if it ever happens again. Please spread the word! Peace&Love!

Excuse me?

I had hash and weed on me.. I'm not a stoner?I had hash and weed on me,, It's Burning Man?I had hash and weed on me.. The BLM is out of control?I had hash and weed on me.. I walked away and was grabed?I had hash and weed on me ..I was traumatized by receiving a ticket?This has to be a troll or the dumbest asshat that every happened to earth..

I had hash and weed on me.. I'm not a stoner?I had hash and weed on me,, It's Burning Man?I had hash and weed on me.. The BLM is out of control?I had hash and weed on me.. I walked away and was grabed?I had hash and weed on me ..I was traumatized by receiving a ticket?This has to be a troll or the dumbest asshat that every happened to earth..

You need to give people warnings man... I almost choked on my Bacardi and Coke....

Sorry to hear about your experience... From my experience, though, smokers (and stoners in particular) never think they reek of what they've been smoking when others can smell it a mile away. Even if you hadn't been partaking in the last several hours, the smell doesn't go away. No way of telling how they ended up there at that particular moment, but yeah that sounds like quite a night. Live and learn.

If the PO's story is true.. She was/has been on a drug watch list.. How else would the law be looking for her at a higher weight? That, or some one narced her out.. including a picture of her.. Must have pissed some one off.. The law knew which doom to wait at.. I keep telling people not to be holding outside your shelter.. That ticket will be nothing compared to the end of a long investgation..

Sammi- That sucks, but honestly, at least you just got the "stupid tax" and they didn't take you away from the event or worse, bring dogs to search the camp and find the good stuff.

I keep getting into this debate with campmates (well, one stubborn dumbass stoner campmate)- Weed is a dumb drug at burning man. It stinks. It literally puts off a visible, stinky cloud of probable cause. I don't know why this is so hard for some folks to grasp. Even if you're not smoking, the sober BLM guy can smell the sticky medical grade weed you've got in your pocket.

Get baked the other 51 weeks and spend some time getting to know potions, powders, and elixers- in the privacy of your tent.

robrob wrote:Sammi- That sucks, but honestly, at least you just got the "stupid tax" and they didn't take you away from the event or worse, bring dogs to search the camp and find the good stuff.

I keep getting into this debate with campmates (well, one stubborn dumbass stoner campmate)- Weed is a dumb drug at burning man. It stinks. It literally puts off a visible, stinky cloud of probable cause. I don't know why this is so hard for some folks to grasp. Even if you're not smoking, the sober BLM guy can smell the sticky medical grade weed you've got in your pocket.

Get baked the other 51 weeks and spend some time getting to know potions, powders, and elixers- in the privacy of your tent.

(ps- i'm not calling you stupid when i say "stupid tax")

Your another one that just don't get it..Sammy's rightest indignation makes her the dumbest asshat ever..Those Blm ranger are going to get there asses kicked for giving that ticket.. They had her information and a picture.. They jumped on some one's investigation..Best thing for her to do is pay the fine by mail.. Then go live with an old aunt out of state for a year..

Sammi_Noelle wrote:... Then they started threatening to get the dogs, and that they we’re going to search me either way, so I might as well let them search me. ...

And here is the exact moment of the incident going downhill. There is never "might as well let them." You respectfully refuse until--and past--the bitter end. No exceptions.

Treat all searches as if they're going to give you a deep-cavity rectal search--no lube. You'd sure as hell fight that wouldn't you?

You know and here's something else that I learned.. no shit. A dog.. is actually classified as an officer. No, really. You can refuse a dog search just like an officer search.. and without merit, it WILL be thrown out.

i don't want to interfere with anyone burning in whatever way they see fit, but thats jsut the one thing that seems like a bad idea- if smoking herb in the shade structure can jeopardize the entire camp.... c'mon.

(sorry for two posts, I was editing the post, and for some reason it made me a new one :\)

robrob wrote:i don't want to interfere with anyone burning in whatever way they see fit, but thats jsut the one thing that seems like a bad idea- if smoking herb in the shade structure can jeopardize the entire camp.... c'mon.

Yup, extremely obvious, especially the smell. You can actually see the LEO on those ATVs homing in on the scent like sharks to blood.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

Is it because she got caught? Or is it because the LEO commented on her weight?

Either way, I totally agree!! F*cking BLM is out of control!! OUT OF CONTROL! How dare they do their jobs?! It's an outrage that we have to do illicit substances in secret especially if we can't figure out how to cover our tracks! zOMG!!

i don't want to interfere with anyone burning in whatever way they see fit, but thats jsut the one thing that seems like a bad idea- if smoking herb in the shade structure can jeopardize the entire camp.... c'mon.

i don't want to interfere with anyone burning in whatever way they see fit, but thats jsut the one thing that seems like a bad idea- if smoking herb in the shade structure can jeopardize the entire camp.... c'mon.

precisely what eatables are for. amiright?

Or a smoke capture bottle. My brother used one of those in the 70s in our basement. Made it out of a dishsoap bottle, a cork and a short piece of glass piping he stole from chem lab. I forget what he did when he exhaled, because I didn't smoke with him, but it was a bandanna or some such thing. Simple.

AntiM wrote:Or a smoke capture bottle. My brother used one of those in the 70s in our basement. Made it out of a dishsoap bottle, a cork and a short piece of glass piping he stole from chem lab. I forget what he did when he exhaled, because I didn't smoke with him, but it was a bandanna or some such thing. Simple.

ha! sounds like when we would take empty toilet tissue rolls, stuff 'em with dryer sheets and blow the smoke through those back in college. apparently living across from the RA wasn't enough to stop the shenanigans...

haha. I meant that if I were a ranger or whomever, tasked with trying to finding the smell of marijuana smoke, I'd probably also be trained in the ways to "cover it up." So, smelling a dryer in the middle of nowhere would be...suspicious at least?

Or...who knows? Maybe people like to spritz linen-scented Febreze throughout the open playa, meaning the smell of a dryer or dryer sheets wouldn't ring any alarm bells?